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Why Did I Get a Business Credit Notification?
Why Did Dun & Bradstreet Contact Me?
Business credit notifications are usually sent out when one or more of the following is true:
Your Dun & Bradstreet business credit scores and ratings have changed
There are new inquiries into your business credit file*
Your company’s credit scores and ratings can help third parties, including lenders, gauge the company’s financial stability and payment habits. A business’s Dun & Bradstreet credit file is composed of the following scores and ratings:
Understanding your company’s financial health can help partners manage the potential risk of doing business with you. These can include:
- New Customers – A client thinking about purchasing your products or materials would want to know if your business is on a sound financial footing.
- New Suppliers – Vendors who extend trade credit stand to lose money if you cannot pay them back in a timely manner.
- Existing Business Partners – Both customers and suppliers may routinely check up on the state of your company when evaluating new business opportunities.
- Lenders – Banks, credit unions, and other financial institutions can routinely check a business’s credit scores and ratings before extending funds.
- Surety Companies – Construction firms usually have to obtain surety bonds before they can begin large projects. The surety company may consult a business’s credit scores and ratings.
Unlike personal credit files, anyone can purchase your business’s credit scores and ratings.
Dun & Bradstreet uses the information in your business credit file to determine your company’s credit scores and ratings. If you’ve been notified that your D&B business credit file is incomplete, we may be missing:
- Trade References – Past payment experiences that demonstrate how your company pays it bills.**
- Financial Statements – Dun & Bradstreet cannot access financial documents from private companies. If business owners don’t report this information, it cannot be considered when we determine scores and ratings.
- Other Business Details – You can contact a Dun & Bradstreet Account Manager to find out what information may be missing from your company's credit file. Call 1-800-701-7168 to speak with an Account Manager.
**Trade References will be added subject to Dun & Bradstreet verification and acceptance. Dun & Bradstreet cannot guarantee that trade references will be accepted or that accepted trade references will impact your business credit file. Please see What is a Trade Reference for eligibility, process and other information regarding Trade References.
What a Business Credit Notification Might Mean For Your Company
A business credit notification about your company is likely due to a change in your scores and ratings. It’s not unusual for Dun & Bradstreet to reach out to companies when their business credit scores or ratings have changed. If you recently received a business credit notification from Dun & Bradstreet, you probably have questions about how this activity may affect your company. We’ve created an infographic to help you better understand the importance of building and monitoring your business credit file.
*Inquiry or Inquiries are the number of individual request(s) for information, which may include but is not limited to credit information, by a unique external customer(s) on a Dun & Bradstreet D‑U‑N‑S® Number in a rolling one-year (365-day) time period. More than one inquiry can be made by each unique customer, which would indicate that some customers have inquired on such D‑U‑N‑S Number multiple times and may be monitoring the associated business. “Customer” is defined as a person or business requesting Dun & Bradstreet information on another D‑U‑N‑S Number. These requests could be a free service, one-time report purchase, or a subscription-based service.
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